59 km of electricity lines will be removed and 3 km will be buried
The local grid strengthened with 51 km of new lines
Investments for 40 million euros
Greater safety, quality and efficiency for the electricity system in the area

The electricity grid in the Belluno Province will soon have an edge in terms of safety, quality and efficiency due to the reconstruction of 51 km of obsolete electricity lines. Not to mention the environment, which is at the heart of Terna’s approach to sustainability: 59 km of old power lines will soon be removed and 3 km will be buried.


Gianpaolo Bottacin and Luigi Roth, respectively President of the Belluno Province and Terna’s Chairman, the company responsible for developing the national electricity transmission grid, signed today a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at upgrading the electricity grid in the northern part of the Belluno Province. The Memorandum, which focuses primarily on the "feasibility area", the portion of territory inside of which the route for the new works was identified, was also signed by the Municipal Authorities of Longarone, Castellavazzo, Ospitale and Perarolo, in addition to the Province of Belluno.



The agreement calls for the strengthening of the 132 kV grid located in the northern part of the Belluno Province which will allow the local hydroelectric production to be fully exploited, thus increasing the service’s safety and quality in the Belluno production area. The agreement also calls for the removal of any redundancy in the 132 kV grid and the optimization of the routes for the 132 kV and 220 kV lines crossing the four Municipalities who have signed the agreement. This will be done to improve locations of existing electricity lines with respect to urban areas, as requested by the local community.


Terna’s activity for the renewal of the electricity grid in the area is also aimed at reducing the environmental pressure of the electricity infrastructures on the territory in order to free urban areas from existing lines, by removing 59 km of electricity lines, burying 3 km of power lines and rebuilding 51 km of lines. The balance between reconstruction and removal work will be equal to -8 km of power lines on the territory of the four Municipalities. For this work, Terna has planned an investment of 40 million euros, which is in line with the grid’s Development Plan.
However, thanks to the Memorandum of Understanding signed by Terna and the Municipalities of Belluno, Soverzene and Ponte nelle Alpi on March 21, 2009, the total investment in the Belluno Province amounts to 80 million euros and the balance regarding the planned work is assessed at -19 km of power lines on the territory.


The project also includes the following:
- Strengthening the 132 kV "Polpet-Desedan" and "Desedan-Forno di Zoldo" power lines within the boundaries of the Longarone Municipality;
- Strengthening the 132 kV “Polpet-Pelos” power line in the area of the Desedan Primary Cabin to which it will be connected, as far as the border between the Municipalities of Perarolo and Pieve di Cadore; rebuilding the 220 kV Soverzene-Lienz line, moving it away from populated areas.
- Strengthening the current Polpet station;
- Building a 132 kV buried cable connection between the Polpet station and the Desedan Primary Cabin.


Terna is completing the planning of the new activities and expects to be able to initiate authorization procedures with relative environmental impact assessment of the investment in the next few months.


In addition to upgrading the grid in the Belluno Province, Terna is also planning investments for a total of over 600 million euros to modernize the electricity grid with a view to sustainability, thus improving the electricity service for businesses and families.


"The development of a territory – explained Gianpaolo Bottacin, the President of the Belluno Province – must also include modernizing infrastructures and power plants. This can be done while showing respect for the environment in which we live, a particularly delicate eco-system in our mountains. With this agreement, the Belluno Province has taken a further step towards upgrading the electricity grid, increasing its safety and improving the quality of the service offered to our citizens every day".


"Signing this Memorandum – commented Terna’s Chairman Luigi Roth – represents a further and important step that is part of a winning strategy based on dialogue and information sharing with local communities. In the Veneto Region, we are planning significant investments aimed at increasing the service’s safety, efficiency, and reliability in the region, with a view to sustainability.
Considering the environment along with the Country’s infrastructure development is a priority for Terna, a company that has always combined electricity needs and urban development with the protection of the territory". 

Belluno, July 21, 2010